“Most Wanted” Part 2
Written by: Judd Winick
Art by: Carlos D’Anda
Colors by: Sno-Cone
Lettering by: Phil Balsman
Assoc Editor: Tom Palmer Jr.
Editor: Eddie Berganza
Published by: DC Comics
I have been very hot and cold when it comes to the Outsiders. When I heard about it at first, it didn’t sound like a book I would be too interested in. But the buzz around it built, and I checked out a few issues. I was always a hug fan of Tom Raney, so I was hooked for a while. When I get it every month, it’s not something I’m terribly excited about though. Judd Winick writes a good story, and the art is always at the very least appealing, but I just can’t get hooked, no matter what.
This current story arc is all about an abducted child. It’s a terrible thing to happen, and it’s full of drama. So I thought it would work well in this book. Winick writes The Outsiders as a little bit more of a mature book, not aimed towards the younger crowd like its sister (or cousin) book, Teen Titans. So, yeah. I suppose the more mature story would work.
Unfortunately, it just doesn’t gel. The realism behind this story is just too much for me. While I like my comics to have a bit more weight every month, it’s just not working well here. It’s a little too real to work in a superhero book. When this sort of story is done in a Batman comic, it can come across successfully because the character of Batman has enough facets to take the traditional super-hero elements away and have the rest of him deal with it. But in the Outsiders, no matter how edgy you make the characters or the mood, people like Metamorpho, Arsenal, Jade, etc, are still a superhero team. So when they beat up someone called “Brother Blood”, it works. However when they go after a child kidnapping ring, it doesn’t hold up.
Another flaw in the book is the stunt casting. This sort of thing doesn’t happen often in comics. It’s always for TV shows. But this arc we have America’s Most Wanted host John Walsh playing himself. It’s a little weird. The book makes a play for a more realistic setting and it comes off a little awkward.
Now I don’t dislike the Outsiders for this issue. But this month, and this arc are just not working for me. I have a lot of respect for Winick and for DC for trying this story. It’s a bold move, and perhaps it will garner some publicity for the book, but I’m just not digging it.
I would like to see Outsiders continue on this trend though. Mixing real world issues and comic book-y elements is very intriguing when done here. In the future, I’m hoping it meshes better though. Outsiders has prided itself by being a bit off for a team book. It’s not as extreme as The Authority, but it’s most certainly not the JLA. One thing that has been put on the back burner for a while is the bizarre team dynamics. To me, it was the most appealing part of the book, so I hope we get to see more.
